January 23, 2012

Up for review today was the newest offering from Kristoff Cigars the Corojo Limitada. I keep a nice supply of Kristoff products in my humidor because I have found that, when I have friends over, it's a brand that normally goes over well from the most experienced smokers to the new guys/gals.

From what I can find online, and from what Glen Case (owner of Kristoff cigars and all around one of the nicest guys you will meet in the cigar industry), told me the Corojo Limitada is the fullest in strength cigar they have in production at this time.

A quote from the Kristoff Cigars Official webpage"The new Corojo Limitada is for the fan of Nicaraguan tobacco. Nearly a puros Nicaraguan blend, this medium-full bodied cigar is loaded with spice, nutmeg, toasted nut and a sweet-spicy finish. Made with 100% Habano seed tobacco that is double and triple fermented, the Corojo Limitada maintains the Kristoff tradition of flavor and smoothness. The signature of Kristoff Cigars."

I tend to lean more towards Nicaraguan cigars in my personal taste, so the quote above sounded good. On to the review...

The first thing I noticed when I got my hands on a Corojo Limitada was the expertly-constructed pig tail cap. Even though the cap has nothing really to do with how the cigar preforms, it's little finishes like this that I notice when walking in a B&M humidor with hundreds of brands to choose from. The other end of the cigar had a closed foot which was a rugged contrast to the cap. The wrapper color was a shiny medium brown that had some darker shades mixed in spots. All in all, it was a very natural processed leaf look. The un-lit aroma was mostly hay, but I did get some port wine scents. The cold draw was tight do to the unfinished foot with a simple, natural tobacco flavor.

First Third

My Corojo Limitada opened up with a lot of thick smoke with a dominate leather flavor. The flavor was present both on the front of the profile, which made it a little dry, and on the finish which actually smoothed things out. It was kind of strange to have the same flavor, but two distinct textures all in one draw, but hey, that's what I got. The construction was excellent and the cigar draw and burn had zero issues. The thing that was a bit surprising to me was the strength of the cigar. I would put it at this point in the mild to lower-medium range; not typical for what I normally expect from Nicaraguan tobacco.

Second Third

The second third of my Corojo Limitada still had a lot of the leather flavor on the front of each puff and on the finish. What did change and come into play was a nice little pepper kick at the absolute back of each draw. I liked this addition because it took what was really a one-dimensional cigar up until now to a new level. The pepper was in no way a front runner in the flavor profile, but just a side note. The strength in the cigar continued to be in the mild to lower medium.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

Finishing off my Corojo Limitada i was greeted yet again with another small change in the flavor profile. Each draw I took now had some sweet cedar on the front, though leather was still the most dominate flavor all over this stick This little difference here, and the little pepper difference in the second third, changed things up a bit. The construction throughout was perfect, and I was able to nub this cigar with ease. The strength of the cigar toward the end was a solid medium.

My final thoughts on Kristoff Corojo Limitada? While it's not the strong cigar I thought I was getting, it was still a very entertaining cigar. After burning an inch in, I thought to myself that this might be kind of boring, but I was wrong when met with the pepper in the second and the cedar in the third. Like I mentioned in my intro to this post, I would say this is another blend from Kristoff that a hardcore smoker or someone new to the hobby could smoke and enjoy.

Would I buy it again? Yes, I will keep some of these around.

Would I buy a box? This is not my personal favorite in terms of flavor profile, so I would pass on a full box.